


Follow in Your Footsteps

by Dragonsandducks



Category: Carmen Sandiego (Cartoon 2019)
Genre: Crushes, F/F, Kinda?, Mostly Fluff, character introspection, me projecting onto julia: ah yes. writing, so excited for season two
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-21
Updated: 2019-09-21
Packaged: 2020-10-25 03:22:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 637
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20717273
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dragonsandducks/pseuds/Dragonsandducks
Summary: Carmen goes, and Julia follows.





	Follow in Your Footsteps

It seems like trouble follows the lady in red, or _la femme rouge_, as Devineaux likes to call her. Julia knows she should hate her, and a part of her does, but a more self-destructive part wants to love her more than anything. 

They met on the train when the Magna Carta was stolen. That one time is a coincidence, by all logic. 

It's not a coincidence to meet twice. And then three times. And again, and again, and again and again and again— and when she appears Julia notices her eyes first, always her eyes, and when she leaves the last thing she sees is her hair or her coat, waving in the wind, but then she disappears and Julia wants _more_— 

She breaks herself from the spiral like she has before. Carmen Sandiego is a criminal, a thief, even while she doesn't truly believe that, it's like wherever crime happens Carmen's there too.

(But then why would she leave the Magna Carta?)

(Why flirt, not just on the train, no, when they see each other again and she calls her _Jules_, and Julia would like nothing more than to hear Carmen say her name again.)

(Why, why, why?)

"We meet again," Carmen says, and Julia looks up to see her eyes— grey, almost silver, shining with mischief and charm. She's on the balcony of Julia's hotel room, and Julia slides open the door to be face to face with Carmen, balanced like a cat on the rail. The door slides closed behind her without a word, Carmen's mouth twitching into a smile, just for a moment.

"Miss Sandiego," Julia says, because it feels too personal to say _Carmen_ even as Carmen calls her Jules, a nickname she'd hated before it'd passed Carmen's lips the first time. "You have the ruby, I assume?" With a playful smile, Carmen pulls the red gem from her pocket. It shines in the light from Julia's room, red, like Carmen's lips.

"I know you can keep it safe, Jules," Carmen teases, going through the motions like she always does, but Julia doesn't mind.

(She'll go through the motions every time if it's with Carmen.)

(She'll go anywhere to see if Carmen comes, bringing whatever she stole, returning it like thievery is a game.)

(And Carmen always comes.)

"I can," Julia says, and she's tired of the motions, screw the motions, the loudest part of her head right now is the one telling her to lean forward to kiss _la femme rouge_, but she doesn't. "Thank you, Carmen," she says, and the name fits in her mouth. 

Carmen really does smile this time, and Julia wishes she could photograph it. It's a gorgeous smile. Carmen is a gorgeous woman. And smart, too. Charming. Clever. Julia could sing her praises all day and it doesn't really matter because when it comes down to it, Carmen is a _criminal_. And Julia is supposed to catch criminals. It's not right. 

(It could be right.)

(Oh, how badly she wants it to be right.)

"I like it when you call me Carmen," the thief says, and she's gone before Julia can even blush. She looks over the balcony, not really expecting to see her, but she's on the street under Julia's window.

Carmen blows her a kiss and laughs, before she's in with the shadows and out of Julia's sight. 

Julia slides down into the balcony chair and groans. 

"You cannot keep doing this," she mumbles to herself. "The woman is driving you mad." She's had her fair share of crushes before, but none like this, and she barely understands what _this_ is, but it's new and exciting and _exhilarating_, every encounter makes her heart beat like a hummingbird's wings. 

_ La femme rouge. _ Julia thinks. _Carmen_. 

The latter fits better.

Carmen. 

It's a good name. 


End file.
